Method For Producing Super Absorbent Polymer And Super Absorbent Polymer

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a super absorbent polymer having a controlled degree of internal crosslinking and thereby having simultaneously improved basic absorption capacity and absorbency under pressure, and a method for producing the same. The super absorbent polymer may comprise a base polymer powder including a cross-linked polymer of a monomer containing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or its salt; and a surface cross-linked layer that is formed on the base polymer powder and is further cross-linked from the cross-linked polymer, wherein a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size is included in the cross-linked structure of the cross-linked polymer of the base polymer powder.

TECHNICAL FIELD Cross-Reference to Related Application(s)

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0080128 filed on Jun. 27, 2016 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to a super absorbent polymer having a controlled degree of internal crosslinking and thereby having simultaneously improved basic absorption capacity and absorbency under pressure, and a method for producing the same.

BACKGROUND

Super absorbent polymer (SAP) is a synthetic polymer material capable of absorbing moisture from about 500 to about 1,000 times its own weight, and each manufacturer has denominated it as different names such as SAM (Super Absorbency Material), AGM (Absorbent Gel Material) or the like. Such super absorbent polymers started to be practically applied in sanitary products, and now they are widely used for preparation of hygiene products such as paper diapers for children or sanitary napkins, water retaining soil products for gardening, water stop materials for the civil engineering and construction, sheets for raising seedling, fresh-keeping agents for food distribution fields, materials for poultice or the like.

In most cases, these super absorbent polymers have been widely used in the field of hygienic materials such as diapers or sanitary napkins. For these applications, the super absorbent polymer should exhibit a high moisture absorbency, it should not release the absorbed water even in the external pressure, and additionally it should well retain the shape even in a state where the volume is expanded (swelled) by absorbing water, and thereby exhibit excellent liquid permeability.

However, it is known that it is difficult to improve both a centrifuge retention capacity (CRC), which is the physical property showing the basic absorption capacity and the water retaining capacity of the super absorbent polymer, and an absorbency under pressure (AUP), which shows the properties of well retaining the absorbed moisture even under the external pressure. This is because, when the overall crosslinking density of the super absorbent polymer is controlled to be low, the centrifuge retention capacity can be relatively high, but the crosslinking structure may be loose, the gel strength may be low and thus the absorbency under pressure may be lowered. On the contrary, when controlling the crosslink density to a high level to improve the absorbency under pressure, it becomes difficult for moisture to be absorbed between densely crosslinked structures, so that the basic absorption capacity such as a centrifuge retention capacity may be lowered.

For the reasons described above, there is a limitation in providing a super absorbent polymer having improved absorption capacity such as centrifuge retention capacity and improved absorbency under pressure together.

Previously, as a means for improving both the basic absorption capacity such as centrifuge retention capacity and the absorbency under pressure together, a method in which polymerization is carried out by adding additives such as silica or clay to the monomer composition has been considered. However, in the additives which have been previously considered, aggregation occurs due to low compatibility and stability with the resin. In the case of increasing its content, it was difficult to add a sufficient amount due to viscosity, turbidity or the like of the additive dispersion. Therefore, when using the conventional additive as described above, there was a limit in improving the effects due to the addition thereof, that is, increasing the basic absorption capacity and the absorbency under pressure together. Rather, such an additive lowered the degree of polymerization of the super absorbent polymer and became one factor that causes deterioration of the physical properties thereof.

Therefore, there is a continuing need to develop a super absorbent polymer capable of improving the basic absorption capacity such as centrifuge retention capacity and the absorbency under pressure together and thus exhibiting excellent physical properties, and a technology enabling the production thereof.

Technical Problem

It is one object of the present invention to provide a super absorbent polymer having a controlled degree of internal crosslinking and thereby having simultaneously improved basic absorption capacity such as centrifuge retention capacity and absorbency under pressure, and a method for producing the same.

Technical Solution

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a method for producing a super absorbent polymer comprising the steps of: carrying out a crosslinking polymerization of a monomer composition including a monomer containing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or its salt and a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size in the presence of an internal crosslinking agent; and drying, pulverizing, and classifying the cross-linked hydrogel polymer.

The present invention also provides a super absorbent polymer comprising:

a base polymer powder including a cross-linked polymer of a monomer containing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or its salt; and

a surface cross-linked layer that is formed on the base polymer powder and is further cross-linked from the cross-linked polymer,

wherein a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size is included in the cross-linked structure of the cross-linked polymer of the base polymer powder.

Hereinafter, a super absorbent polymer according to a specific embodiment of the present invention and a production method thereof will be described in detail. However, this is merely presented as an example of the present invention, and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made to the embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

In addition, unless stated otherwise throughout this specification, the term “comprises” or “contains” refers to including any constituent element (or constituent component) without particular limitation, and it cannot be interpreted as a meaning of excluding an addition of other constituent element (or constituent component).

According to one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a super absorbent polymer comprising the steps of:

carrying out a crosslinking polymerization of a monomer composition including a monomer containing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or its salt and a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size in the presence of an internal crosslinking agent; and

drying, pulverizing, and classifying the cross-linked hydrogel polymer.

In the method for producing a super absorbent polymer according to one embodiment, a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size is included during crosslinking polymerization of the monomer composition. Such a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size has at least a particle size of less than 1 mm, i.e., expressed in unit of microns (μm), more specifically a particle size of 10 to 100 μm, or 10 to 90 μm, or 10 to 30 μm, defined by D50, and may refer to a hollow particle in the form of a hollow surrounded by a thin glass wall. Such glass hollow particle may have, for example, a low density of 0.1 to 0.7 g/cc together with the above-mentioned particle size. In addition, the glass hollow particle may have a hollow having a size determined by the particle size range and the low density range.

As a result of continuous experiments by the present inventors, it has been found that when a super absorbent resin is produced by carrying out crosslinking polymerization using the glass hollow particles in a monomer composition and conducting a subsequent process, it is possible to control the internal crosslinking density of the super absorbent polymer to be relatively low, and thereby to exhibit excellent basic absorption capacity such as centrifuge retention capacity.

Furthermore, it has been found that when controlling the surface crosslinking conditions to increase the crosslinking density while proceeding the crosslinking polymerization with the addition of such glass hollow particles to control the degree of internal crosslinking to be relatively low, not only the degree of crosslinking is increased on the surface of the super absorbent polymer to improve the absorbency under pressure, but also the basic absorption capacity such as centrifuge retention capacity can be improved due to the above-mentioned low degree of internal crosslinking.

In addition, since the glass hollow particles can also serve as a passage for discharging heat of polymerization or residual moisture in the crosslinking polymerization process, it can greatly contribute to the production and provision of a super absorbent polymer which can further improve the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer and also improve the basic absorption capacity and the absorbency under pressure together.

In particular, the above-mentioned glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size has excellent dispersion stability and compatibility in a monomer composition containing an unsaturated monomer such as acrylic acid, and do not inhibit UV polymerization and the like even if used in a relatively high content, thus capable of sufficiently securing the degree of polymerization of the super absorbent polymer. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously improve the basic absorption capacity and the absorbency under pressure of the super absorbent polymer, while reducing the disadvantages of existing additives such as silica or clay that cause deterioration of the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer.

Hereinafter, a method for producing a super absorbent polymer according to one embodiment will be described in detail for each step.

First, in the production method of one embodiment, as the monomer, a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or a salt thereof, previously known to be usable for the production of a super absorbent polymer, can be used without particular limitation.

More specific example of these monomers include at least one selected from the group consisting of anionic monomers of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, 2-acryloylethanesulfonic acid, 2-methacryloylethanesulfonic acid, 2-(meth)acryloylpropanesulfonic acid or 2-(meth)acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, and their salts; non-ionic, hydrophilic group-containing monomers of (meth)acrylamide, N-substituted (meth)acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl(meth)acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl(meth)acrylate, methoxypolyethylene glycol(meth)acrylate or polyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate; and amino group-containing unsaturated monomers of (N,N)-dimethylaminoethyl(meth)acrylate or (N,N)-dimethylaminopropyl(meth)acrylamide, and their quaternary product.

In particular, the monomer may include a monomer (a salt of an anionic monomer) having at least partially neutralized acidic group contained in the anionic monomer. More specifically, acrylic acid or a salt thereof may be used as the monomer. When acrylic acid is used, it can be used by neutralizing at least a part thereof. The use of such monomers enables production of the super absorbent polymer with superior physical properties. For example, as the water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound, acrylic acid can be used, and an alkali metal salt thereof can be used therewith. In this case, the monomer can be used by partially neutralizing acrylic acid with a basic compound such as caustic soda (NaOH).

The degree of neutralization of such monomer may be 20 mol % or more, or 20 to 90 mol %, or 30 to 80 mol %. In the degree of neutralization of 20 mol % or more, the glass hollow particles contained in the monomer composition can exhibit excellent compatibility and dispersion stability, do not cause aggregation, can control the degree of internal crosslinking without deteriorating the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer, and thereby can contribute to improvement of the basic absorption capacity and the absorbency under pressure.

Meanwhile, among the monomer composition containing the monomer and the like, the concentration of the monomer containing the water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or its salt may be 20 to 60% by weight or 40 to 50% by weight based on the total content of the monomer composition, and it can be adjusted to an appropriate concentration in consideration of the polymerization time, the reaction conditions and the like. However, when the concentration of the monomer is excessively low, the yield of the super absorbent polymer is lowered and it may lead to a problem in terms of economic efficiency. Conversely, when the concentration of the monomer is excessively high, it may lead to problems in the processes, for example, a part of the monomer may be precipitated, or the pulverization efficiency may be lowered during pulverization of the polymerized hydrogel polymer, etc., and the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer may be deteriorated.

In the method for producing a super absorbent polymer according to one embodiment, the monomer composition includes a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size together with the above-mentioned monomer. Such a glass hollow particle has a particle size of 10 to 100 μm, or 10 to 90 μm, or 10 to 30 μm, defined by D50 and may have a hollow surrounded by a thin glass wall as described above. Such glass hollow particle may have, for example, a low density of 0.1 to 0.7 g/cc or 0.3 to 0.6 g/cc together with the above-mentioned particle size, and it may have a hollow having a size determined by the density range and the particle size.

In addition, such glass hollow particle may have a spherical shape surrounded by a thin and transparent glass wall, and may have the above-mentioned low density.

Due to the morphological/structural characteristics of these glass hollow particles, such as low density, size of particles of an appropriate size, etc., the glass hollow particles are contained in the monomer composition and thus the degree of internal crosslinking of the base polymer powder after crosslinking polymerization and the super absorbent polymer can be controlled to be relatively low. In addition, due to the transparency of the glass hollow particles and the like, the glass hollow particles do not inhibit UV polymerization and the like even if used in a relatively high content, and serve as a passage for discharging heat of polymerization or residual moisture in the crosslinking polymerization process, and thereby can contribute to the production of a super absorbent polymer exhibiting excellent physical properties.

However, when the above-mentioned morphological/structural characteristics, such as the particle size range and density range of the glass hollow particles, are not satisfied, it is difficult to produce the glass hollow particles themselves or the application thereof may be difficult in consideration of the particle size of the super absorbent polymer particles. Further, in the case where the hollow becomes too small or the density becomes high, it may be difficult to control the degree of internal crosslinking, and it can inhibit the UV polymerization to adversely affect the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer.

The glass hollow particles described above can be prepared directly by a method well known to those skilled in the art, or may be used by obtaining commercially available glass hollow particles having the above-described structural/morphological characteristics. Since such a method for producing glass hollow particles and the like are well known to those skilled in the art, a further description thereof will be omitted.

The glass hollow particle may be contained in the surface cross-linking solution in an amount of 0.01 to 20 parts by weight, or 0.03 to 5 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the monomer such as acrylic acid. With such an appropriate content, it is possible to maintain excellent degree of polymerization and physical properties of the super absorbent polymer while improving the basic absorption capacity and the absorbency under pressure of the super absorbent polymer.

Meanwhile, in the production method of one embodiment, in order to produce the super absorbent polymer into a porous form to further improve its absorption rate, a foaming step of the monomer composition may be carried out.

Such a foaming step can be carried out by a method such as stirring the monomer composition before polymerization. Such foaming step can proceed for about 10 seconds to 5 minutes.

In addition, the monomer composition may further include a polymerization initiator generally used in the production of a super absorbent polymer.

Specifically, the polymerization initiator may include a thermal polymerization initiator or a photo polymerization initiator by UV irradiation, according to the polymerization method such as a thermal polymerization or a photo polymerization. However, even in the case of photo polymerization method, because a certain amount of heat is generated by the irradiation of UV ray and the like, and a certain amount of heat is generated in accordance with the progress of the polymerization reaction, which is an exothermic reaction, and thus, a thermal polymerization initiator may be further included.

The photo polymerization initiator can be used without limitation in its constitution as long as it is a compound capable of forming a radical by light such as ultraviolet rays.

The photo-polymerization initiator used herein may include, for example, at least one selected from the group consisting of benzoin ether, dialkyl acetophenone, hydroxyl alkylketone, phenyl glyoxylate, benzyl dimethyl ketal, acyl phosphine and α-aminoketone. Meanwhile, specific examples of the acyl phosphine, commercialized lucirin TPO, namely, 2,4,6-trimethyl-benzoyl-trimethyl phosphine oxide may be used. More various photo polymerization initiators are well disclosed in “UV Coatings: Basics, Recent Developments and New Application” written by Reinhold Schwalm, (Elsevier, 2007), p 115, however the example of the photo polymerization initiator is not limited thereto.

The photo polymerization initiator may be included in a concentration of 0.01 to 1.0% by weight based on the monomer composition. When the concentration of the photo polymerization initiator is too low, the polymerization rate may become slow, and when the concentration of the photo polymerization initiator is too high, the molecular weight of the super absorbent polymer is small and the physical properties may become uneven.

And, as the thermal polymerization initiator, one or more selected from the group consisting of a persulfate-based initiator, an azo-based initiator, hydrogen peroxide, and ascorbic acid may be used. Specific examples of the persulfate-based initiator may include sodium persulfate (Na₂S₂O₈), potassium persulfate (K₂S₂O₈), ammonium persulfate ((NH₄)₂S₂O₈), and the like; and examples of the azo-based initiator include 2,2-azobis(2-amidinopropane)dihydrochloride, 2,2-azobis-(N,N-dimethylene)isobutyramidine dihydrochloride, 2-(carbamoylazo)isobutylonitril, 2,2-azobis[2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)propane]dihydrochloride, 4,4-azobis-(4-cyanovaleric acid) or the like. More various thermal polymerization initiators are well disclosed in “Principle of Polymerization” written by Odian, (Wiley, 1981), p 203, however the example of the thermal polymerization initiator is not limited thereto.

The thermal polymerization initiator may be included in a concentration of 0.001 to 1.0% by weight with respect to the monomer composition. If the concentration of such a thermal polymerization initiator is too low, additional thermal polymerization hardly occurs and the effect due to the addition of the thermal polymerization initiator may be insignificant. If the concentration of the thermal polymerization initiator is excessively high, the molecular weight of the super absorbent polymer may be small and the physical properties may become uneven.

Meanwhile, after the monomer composition containing each of the above-described components is formed in the form of an aqueous solution or suspension, crosslinking polymerization of the monomer composition may proceed in the presence of an internal crosslinking agent to obtain a hydrogel polymer.

In this case, as the internal crosslinking agent, any crosslinking agent previously known to be usable for the production of the super absorbent polymer can be used. As a specific example, the internal crosslinking agent may be at least one selected from the group consisting of N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide, trimethylolpropane tri(meth)acrylate, ethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, polyethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, propylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, polypropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, butanediol di(meth)acrylate, butylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, diethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, hexanediol di(meth)acrylate, triethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, tripropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, tetraethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, dipentaerythritol pentacrylate, glycerin tri(meth)acrylate, and pentaerythritol tetraacrylate. In addition, various other internal crosslinking agents can be used.

Such internal crosslinking agent may be contained together with other components in the monomer composition or may be additionally added. The internal crosslinking agent can be used in an amount of 0.001 to about 5% by weight, about 0.001 to about 3% by weight, about 0.001 to about 1% by weight, or about 0.001 to about 0.5% by weight, based on the monomer composition. In particular, as such internal crosslinking agent is used in an amount of 0.01 to 5 parts by weight, 0.01 to 3 parts by weight, 0.01 to 1 part by weight, or 0.1 to 0.6 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the unneutralized water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound described above, for example, the unneutralized acrylic acid, the super absorbent polymer having an optimized cross-linked structure and having more excellent physical properties can be produced.

Meanwhile, the monomer composition may further include additives such as a thickener, a plasticizer, a preservation stabilizer, an antioxidant and the like, if necessary.

Further, the monomer, the glass hollow particles and the like as described above is formed in the form of a solution or suspension in which each component is dissolved or dispersed in a solvent.

In this case, any usable solvent can be used without limitation in its constitution as long as it can dissolve or disperse the above-mentioned components. For example, one or more solvents selected from the group consisting of water, ethanol, ethyleneglycol, diethyleneglycol, triethyleneglycol, 1,4-butanediol, propyleneglycol, ethyleneglycol monobutylether, propyleneglycol monomethylether, propyleneglycol monomethylether acetate, methylethylketone, acetone, methylamylketone, cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone, diethyleneglycol monomethylether, diethyleneglycol ethylether, toluene, xylene, butylolactone, carbitol, methylcellosolve acetate, and N,N-dimethyl acetamide, and so on may be used alone or in combination.

The solvent may be included in the residual quantity excluding the components disclosed above based on the total content of the monomer composition.

Meanwhile, the method of forming a hydrogel polymer by subjecting such monomer composition to the thermal polymerization or photo polymerization can be used without limitation in the constitution as long as it is a method generally used in the polymerization.

Specifically, the polymerization method is largely classified into a thermal polymerization and a photo polymerization according to the polymerization energy source. Usually, the thermal polymerization may be carried out in the reactor like kneader equipped with agitating spindles. Further, the thermal polymerization can be carried out at a temperature of 40 to 120° C.

Conversely, the photo polymerization may be carried out in the reactor equipped with movable conveyor belt, however the polymerization method disclosed above is only one example, and the present invention is not limited to the polymerization methods disclosed above.

The hydrogel polymer obtained by the above-mentioned method may typically have a water content of about 40 to about 80% by weight. Meanwhile, the “water content” as used herein means a weight occupied by moisture with respect to a total weight of the hydrogel polymer, which may be the value obtained by subtracting the weight of the dried polymer from the weight of the hydrogel polymer. Specifically, the water content can be defined as a value calculated by measuring the weight loss due to evaporation of moisture in the polymer in the drying process by raising the temperature of the polymer through infrared heating. At this time, the drying conditions may be determined as follows: the drying temperature is increased from room temperature to about 180° C. and then the temperature may be maintained at 180° C., and the total drying time may be set to 40 minutes, including 5 minutes for the temperature rising step.

After crosslinking polymerization of the monomers, drying, pulverizing, and classifying steps may be carried out to obtain the base polymer powder. Through such pulverizing and classifying steps, the base polymer powder and the super absorbent polymer obtained therefrom are suitably produced and provided such that they have a particle size of 150 μm to 850 μm. More specifically, at least 95% by weight of the base polymer powder and the super absorbent polymer obtained therefrom may have a particle size of 150 μm to 850 μm, and fine powder having a particle size of less than 150 μm may be less than 3% by weight.

As such, as particle size distributions of the base polymer powder and the super absorbent polymer are adjusted within the preferred range, the super absorbent polymer finally produced may exhibit the above-described excellent physical properties, particularly superior centrifuge retention capacity and absorbency under pressure.

Meanwhile, the methods of performing the drying, pulverizing, and classifying will be described in more detail as follows.

First, in drying the hydrogel polymer, a coarse pulverization (gel pulverization) step may be further carried out before drying in order to increase the efficiency of the drying process, if necessary.

There is no limitation in the constitution of a pulverizing machine to be used. Specifically, any one device selected from the group consisting of a vertical pulverizer, a turbo cutter, a turbo grinder, a rotary cutter mill, a cutter mill, a disc mill, a shred crusher, a crusher, a chopper, and a disc cutter may be used, but it is not limited thereto.

In this case, the coarse pulverization may be carried out such that the hydrogel polymer has a particle size of 0.1 to 20 mm.

Due to the high water content of the hydrogel polymer, it is technically not easy to pulverize the hydrogel polymer into a particle size of less than 0.1 mm, and an agglomeration phenomenon between the pulverized particles may occur. Meanwhile, when the particle size is larger than 10 mm, the effect of increasing the efficiency of the subsequent drying step may be unsatisfactory.

The hydrogel polymer coarsely pulverized as above or the hydrogel polymer immediately after polymerization without the coarse pulverizing step is subjected to a drying step. In this case, a drying temperature of the drying step may be 150° C. to 250° C. When the drying temperature is lower than 150° C., it is likely that the drying time becomes too long or the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer finally formed are deteriorated, and when the drying temperature is higher than 250° C., only the surface of the polymer is excessively dried, and thus it is likely that fine powder is generated during the subsequent pulverizing step and the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer finally formed are deteriorated. Therefore, the drying step may be preferably carried out at a temperature of 150° C. to 200° C., and more preferably at a temperature of 160° C. to 190° C.

Meanwhile, the drying may proceed for 20 to 90 minutes in consideration of process efficiency, etc., but is not limited thereto.

In the drying step, the drying method may also be selected and used without any limitation in the constitution, as long as it is a method generally used for drying the hydrogel polymer. Specifically, the drying step may be carried out by a method such as hot air supply, infrared irradiation, microwave irradiation, or ultraviolet irradiation. After the drying step as above is finished, the water content of the polymer may be 0.1% to 10% by weight.

Subsequently, the dried polymer obtained through the drying step is subjected to a pulverization step.

The polymer powder obtained through the pulverizing step may have a particle size of 150 to 850 μm. Specific examples of a pulverizing device that can be used to pulverize into the above particle size may include a ball mill, a pin mill, a hammer mill, a screw mill, a roll mill, a disc mill, a jog mill or the like, but it is not limited to the above-described examples.

Further, in order to control the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer powder finally commercialized after the pulverization step, a separate step of classifying the polymer powder obtained after the pulverization depending on the particle size may be undergone. Preferably, a polymer having a particle size of 150 to 850 μm is classified and only the polymer powder having such a particle size can be subjected to the surface crosslinking reaction and finally commercialized. Since the particle size distribution of the base polymer powder obtained through these steps has already been described above, a further detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Meanwhile, after proceeding the forming step of the above-described base polymer powder, the surface of the base polymer powder may be further cross-linked in the presence of a surface crosslinking agent to form a surface cross-linked layer, thereby producing a super absorbent polymer.

In such surface cross-linking step, any surface-crosslinking agent previously known to be usable for the production of the super absorbent polymer can be used without particular limitation. One or more selected from the group consisting of a polyhydric alcohol compound, an epoxy compound, a polyamine compound, a haloepoxy compound, a condensation product of the haloepoxy compound, an oxazoline compound, a mono-, di-, or poly-oxazolidinone compound, a cyclic urea compound, a polyvalent metal salt, and an alkylene carbonate compound may be used as the surface crosslinking agent. In addition, various other surface crosslinking agents can be used.

Meanwhile, in the surface cross-linking step, as the surface crosslinking is performed by adding a multivalent metal cation together with the surface crosslinking agent, the surface cross-linked structure of the super absorbent polymer can be further optimized. This is presumably because the metal cation can form a chelate with a carboxyl group (COOH) of the super absorbent polymer to further reduce the crosslinking distance.

Further, the method of adding the surface crosslinking agent to the base polymer powder is not limited by its configuration. For example, a method of placing the surface crosslinking solution and the base polymer powder into a reaction tank and mixing them, a method of spraying a surface crosslinking solution onto the base polymer powder, a method in which the base polymer powder and the surface crosslinking solution are continuously supplied in a continuously operating mixer and mixed, or the like can be used.

When the surface crosslinking agent is added, water and methanol may be further mixed and added. When water and methanol are added thereto, there is an advantage that the surface crosslinking agent may be uniformly dispersed on the base polymer powder. At this time, the content of water and methanol to be added can be applied by adjusting the addition ratio to 100 parts by weight of the base polymer powder, for the purposes of inducing a uniform dispersion of the surface crosslinking agent, preventing an agglomeration phenomenon of the base polymer powder, and optimizing a surface penetration depth of the crosslinking agent.

In order to produce a super absorbent polymer exhibiting more excellent physical properties, the surface crosslinking step can be carried out at a temperature of about 110° C. to 200° C.

More specifically, the conditions of the surface crosslinking step may be the conditions where the maximum reaction temperature is 140° C. or higher, or 160 to 200° C. and the retention time at the maximum reaction temperature is 20 minutes or more, or 20 minutes or more and 1 hour or less. In addition, the temperature raising time required to reach from a temperature at the start of the first reaction, for example, a temperature of about 30° C. or more, or 30 to 120° C. to the maximum reaction temperature can be controlled to 10 minutes or more, or 10 minutes or more and 1 hour or less. The surface crosslinking structure is optimized by satisfying the above-mentioned surface cross-linking process conditions, so that a super absorbent polymer exhibiting more excellent absorption properties and the like can be produced.

The temperature raising means for the surface crosslinking reaction is not particularly limited. The heating can be carried out by providing a heating medium or directly providing a heating source. The type of heat medium that can be used here includes a heated fluid such as steam, hot air, hot oil, etc., but it is not limited thereto. Further, the temperature of the heating medium to be provided can be appropriately selected in consideration of the means of the heating medium, the temperature raising speed, and the temperature raising target temperature. Meanwhile, a heat source to be provided directly may include a heating method using electricity or a heating method using gas, but is not limited thereto.

The super absorbent polymer obtained according to the production method of one embodiment described above can exhibit very excellent characteristics which improve the basic absorption capacity such as centrifuge retention capacity, and various physical properties such as absorbency under pressure together, and also can exhibit excellent physical properties that can be suitably used for sanitary articles such as diapers.

The super absorbent polymer produced by the method of the above-mentioned embodiment comprises, for example, a base resin powder including a cross-linked polymer of a monomer containing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated monomer or a salt thereof; and

a surface cross-linked layer that is formed on the base resin powder and is further cross-linked from the cross-linked polymer,

wherein a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size is included in the cross-linked structure of the cross-linked polymer of the base polymer powder.

In such a super absorbent polymer, the glass hollow particle has predetermined structural/morphological characteristics such as certain range of particle size as already described above. The details thereof have already been described in detail, and thus a further description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the glass hollow particle may be contained in the super absorbent polymer in a content corresponding to the content in the monomer composition, thereby exhibiting simultaneously improved centrifuge retention capacity and absorbency under pressure

Further, the super absorbent polymer can exhibit excellent absorption characteristics that a centrifuge retention capacity (CRC) for a physiological saline solution (0.9 wt % sodium chloride aqueous solution) for 30 minutes of 35 to 45 g/g, or 35 to 40 g/g and simultaneously exhibit excellent absorbency under pressure, the absorbency under pressure (AUP) at 0.7 psi for a physiological saline solution (0.9 wt % sodium chloride aqueous solution) for 1 hour being 22.5 to 28 g/g, or 22.5 to 25 g/g.

The centrifuge retention capacity (CRC) for a physiological saline solution can be measured according to EDANA recommended test method No. WSP 241.2. More specifically, the centrifuge retention capacity can be calculated according to the following Calculation Equation 1 after absorbing the super absorbent polymer in a physiological saline solution for 30 minutes:

CRC(g/g)={[W ₂(g)−W ₁(g)]/W ₀(g)}−1  [Calculation Equation 1]

in Calculation Equation 1,

W₀(g) is an initial weight(g) of the super absorbent polymer. W₁(g) is a weight of the device, which is measured after performing dehydration by using a centrifuge without the super absorbent polymer at 250 G for 3 minutes, and W₂(g) is a weight of the device including the super absorbent polymer, which is measured after immersing and absorbing the super absorbent polymer in a physiological saline solution (0.9 wt % sodium chloride aqueous solution) at room temperature for 30 minutes and then performing dehydration by using a centrifuge at 250 G for 3 minutes.

Further, the absorbency under pressure (AUP) may be calculated according to the following Calculation Equation 2, after absorbing the super absorbent polymer in a physiological saline solution under a load of about 0.7 psi over 1 hour.

AUP(g/g)=[W ₄(g)−W ₃(g)]/W ₀(g)  [Calculation Equation 2]

in Calculation Equation 2,

W₀(g) is an initial weight (g) of the super absorbent polymer, W₃(g) is the total sum of a weight of the super absorbent polymer and a weight of the device capable of providing a load to the super absorbent polymer, and W₄(g) is the total sum of a weight of the super absorbent polymer and a weight of the device capable of providing a load to the super absorbent polymer, after absorbing a physiological saline solution to the super absorbent polymer under a load (0.7 psi) for 1 hour.

Further, the super absorbent polymer can have the extractable content of 25.5% by weight or less, or 20% by weight or less, and thus can exhibit excellent physical properties.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, a super absorbent polymer having not only excellent basic absorption characteristic but also more improved absorbency under pressure, and a method for producing the same can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an electron micrograph of the super absorbent polymer produced in Example 3, which shows that a glass hollow particle (GB) is contained therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred examples are provided for better understanding of the invention. However, these Examples are given for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto.

In the Preparation Examples, Examples and Comparative Examples described below, the physical properties of the super absorbent polymers were measured and evaluated by the following methods.

(1) Evaluation of Particle Sizes

The particle sizes of the base polymer powders and the super absorbent polymers used in Examples and Comparative Examples were measured according to EDANA (European Disposables and Nonwovens Association) recommended test method No. WSP 220.3.

(2) Centrifuge Retention Capacity (CRC)

The centrifuge retention capacity(CRC) by water absorption capacity under a non-loading condition was measured for the super absorbent polymers of Examples and Comparative Examples in accordance with EDANA (European Disposables and Nonwovens Association) recommended test method No. WSP 241.3.

That is, W₀(g, about 0.2 g) of the polymers of Examples and Comparative Examples were uniformly put in a nonwoven fabric-made bag, followed by sealing. Then, the bag was immersed in a physiological saline solution composed of 0.9 wt % aqueous sodium chloride solution at room temperature. After 30 minutes, water was removed from the bag by centrifugation at 250 G for 3 minutes, and the weight W₂(g) of the bag was then measured. Further, the same procedure was carried out without using the polymer, and then the resultant weight W₁(g) was measured.

Using the respective weights thus obtained. CRC (g/g) was calculated according to the following Calculation Equation 1, thereby confirming the centrifuge retention capacity.

CRC(g/g)={[W ₂(g)−W ₁(g)−W ₀(g)]/W ₀(g)}  [Calculation Equation 1]

in Calculation Equation 1,

W₀(g) is an initial weight(g) of the super absorbent polymer.

W₁(g) is a weight of the device, which is measured after immersing and absorbing the same into a physiological saline solution for 30 minutes and then performing dehydration by using a centrifuge without the super absorbent polymer at 250 G for 3 minutes, and

W₂(g) is a weight of the device including the super absorbent polymer, which is measured after immersing and absorbing the super absorbent polymer in a physiological saline solution at room temperature for 30 minutes and then performing dehydration by using a centrifuge at 250 G for 3 minutes.

(3) Absorbency Under Pressure (AUP)

The absorbency under pressure (AUP) was measured for each super absorbent polymer of Examples and Comparative Examples according to EDANA (European Disposables and Nonwovens Association) recommended test method No. WSP 242.3.

First, a 400 mesh metal made of stainless steel was installed at the bottom of a plastic cylinder having an inner diameter of 60 mm. W₀(g, about 0.90 g) of the polymer obtained in Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 were uniformly scattered on the screen under conditions of a temperature of 23±2° C. and a relative humidity of 45%. Then, a piston capable of uniformly providing a load of 4.83 kPa (0.7 psi) was put thereon, in which the external diameter of the piston was slightly smaller than 60 mm, there was no gap between the internal wall of the cylinder and the piston, and the jig-jog of the cylinder was not interrupted. At this time, the weight W₃(g) of the device was measured.

A glass filter having a diameter of 125 mm and a thickness of 5 mm was placed in a Petri dish having the diameter of 150 mm, and then a physiological saline solution composed of 0.90% by weight of sodium chloride was poured in the dish until the surface level became equal to the upper surface of the glass filter. A sheet of filter paper having a diameter of 120 mm was put thereon. The measuring device was put on the filter paper and the solution was absorbed for 1 hour under the load. After 1 hour, the weight W₄(g) was measured after lifting up the measuring device.

The AUP (g/g) was calculated from the weights thus obtained, according to the following Calculation Equation 2, thereby confirming the absorbency under pressure:

AUP(g/g)=[W ₄(g)−W ₃(g)]/W ₀(g)  [Calculation Equation 2]

in Calculation Equation 2,

W₀(g) is an initial weight (g) of the super absorbent polymer,

W₃(g) is the total sum of a weight of the super absorbent polymer and a weight of the device capable of providing a load to the super absorbent polymer, and

W₄(g) is the total sum of a weight of the super absorbent polymer and a weight of the device capable of providing a load to the super absorbent polymer, after absorbing a physiological saline solution to the super absorbent polymer under a load (0.7 psi) for 1 hour.

(4) Content of Extractables

Among the super absorbent polymers produced in Examples and Comparative Examples, 1.0 g of sample having a particle size of 150 to 850 μm was put in a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask, and 200 mL of a 0.9 wt % sodium chloride aqueous solution was added to a physiological saline solution and subjected to free swelling for 1 hour while stirring at 250 rpm. The aqueous solution was then filtered with a filter paper. The filtered solution was subjected to first titration up to pH 10 with 0.1 N caustic soda solution and then subjected to back titration to pH 2.7 with 0.1N hydrogen chloride solution. The content (wt %) of extractables in the super absorbent polymer was measured from the obtained proper amount according to EDANA recommended test method No. WSP 270.3.

Example 1: Preparation of Super Absorbent Polymer

3M™ glass hollow particles iM30K (particle size: 15.3 μm (D50), density: 0.6 g/cc) were used.

537.45 g of acrylic acid, 0.32 g of the glass hollow particle (0.06 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the monomer), 0.86 g of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (Mw=598) as a crosslinking agent, 653.17 g of 30% caustic soda (NaOH), 0.04 g of diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)-phosphine oxide as UV initiator, 1.07 g of sodium persulfate, and 206.41 g of water were mixed to prepare a monomer composition having an acrylic acid monomer concentration of 36.7 wt % (degree of neutralization of acrylic acid: 70 mol %).

Subsequently, the monomer composition was stirred for 25 seconds under the condition of 300 rpm and subjected to foaming.

Then, the monomer composition was fed to the continuously moving conveyor belt reactor through the feeder, and then irradiated with UV rays (irradiation dose: 2 mW/cm²) for 2 minutes through a UV radiation device to conduct UV polymerization for 1 minute and thermal polymerization for 2 minutes, thereby producing a hydrogel polymer.

The hydrogel polymer was transferred to a cutting machine and then cut to a size of 0.2 cm. At this time, the water content of the cut hydrogel polymer was 50 wt %.

Subsequently, the hydrogel polymer was dried in a hot air dryer at 185° C. for 40 minutes, and the dried hydrogel polymer was pulverized by using a pin mill. Then, it was classified into the polymer having the particle size (average particle size) of less than 150 μm and the polymer having the particle size of 150 μm to 850 μm by using a sieve.

After a base polymer powder was obtained through the classification, 0.67 g of 1,3-propanediol as a surface crosslinking agent was added to 2.8 g of water and 3.5 g of methanol and mixed to prepare a surface crosslinking solution. Thereafter, the surface crosslinking solution was sprayed onto the base polymer powder and mixed with stirring at room temperature so that the surface crosslinking solution was uniformly distributed on the base polymer powder. Then, the base polymer powder mixed with the surface crosslinking solution was put into the surface crosslinking reactor and subjected to the surface crosslinking reaction.

In this surface crosslinking reactor, the surface crosslinking was carried out on the base polymer powder at 185° C. for 90 minutes to produce a super absorbent polymer of Example 1. After the surface crosslinking step, the obtained super absorbent polymer was classified using a standard mesh based on ASTM standard to produce a super absorbent resin of Example 1 having a particle size of 150 μm to 850 μm.

Example 2: Production of Super Absorbent Polymer

3M™ glass hollow particles iM30K (particle size: 15.3 μm based on D50, density: 0.6 g/cc) were used.

The super absorbent resin of Example 2 having a particle size of 150 μm to 850 μm was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0.8 g of glass hollow particles (0.15 part by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the monomer) was used.

Example 3: Production of Super Absorbent Polymer

3M™ Glass hollow particles iM30K (particle size: 15.3 μm based on D50, density: 0.6 g/cc) were used.

The super absorbent resin of Example 3 having a particle size of 150 μm to 850 μm was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 2.68 g of glass hollow particles (0.5 part by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the monomer) was used and the foaming time was changed to 22 seconds.

An electron micrograph of the super absorbent resin produced in Example 3 is shown in FIG. 1, confirming that the hollow glass particles are uniformly dispersed in the base resin powder.

Comparative Example: Production of Super Absorbent Polymer

The super absorbent resin of Comparative Example having a particle size of 150 μm to 850 μm was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the glass hollow particle was not used.

The measurement results of the physical properties of Examples and Comparative Example are summarized and shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Comparative Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example CRC (base polymer 51.1 53.1 51.7 51 powder; g/g) CRC (super absorbent 37.1 38.7 39.1 37 polymer; g/g) AUP(g/g) 23.2 22.6 23.9 22 Extractable content 25.5 23.7 25.4 25.0 (wt. %)

Referring to Table 1, it was confirmed that the super absorbent polymers of Examples exhibit a centrifuge retention capacity equal to or higher than that of Comparative Example, and exhibit more improved physical properties such as absorbency under pressure. 

1. A method for producing a super absorbent polymer comprising the steps of: carrying out a crosslinking polymerization of a monomer composition including a monomer containing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or its salt and a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size in the presence of an internal crosslinking agent to form a cross-linked hydrogel polymer; and drying, pulverizing, and classifying the cross-linked hydrogel polymer.
 2. The method for producing a super absorbent polymer of claim 1, wherein the glass hollow particle is used in the monomer composition in an amount of 0.01 to 20 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the monomer.
 3. The method for producing a super absorbent polymer of claim 1, wherein the glass hollow particle has a particle size of 10 to 100 μm and a density of 0.1 to 0.7 g/cc.
 4. The method for producing a super absorbent polymer of claim 1, wherein the monomer includes at least one selected from the group consisting of anionic monomers of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, 2-acryloylethanesulfonic acid, 2-methacryloylethanesulfonic acid, 2-(meth)acryloylpropanesulfonic acid or 2-(meth)acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, and their salts; non-ionic, hydrophilic group-containing monomers of (meth)acrylamide, N-substituted (meth)acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl(meth)acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl(meth)acrylate, methoxypolyethylene glycol(meth)acrylate or polyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate; and amino group-containing unsaturated monomers of (N,N)-dimethylaminoethyl(meth)acrylate or (N,N)-dimethylaminopropyl(meth)acrylamide, and their quaternary product.
 5. The method for producing a super absorbent polymer of claim 1, wherein the internal crosslinking agent includes at least one selected from the group consisting of N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide, trimethylolpropane tri(meth)acrylate, ethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, polyethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, propylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, polypropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, butanediol di(meth)acrylate, butylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, diethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, hexanediol di(meth)acrylate, triethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, tripropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, tetraethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, dipentaerythritol pentacrylate, glycerin tri(meth)acrylate, and pentaerythritol tetraacrylate.
 6. The method for producing a super absorbent polymer of claim 1, wherein after forming the base polymer powder by the drying, pulverizing, and classifying, the method further comprises surface-crosslinking the base polymer powder to form a surface cross-linked layer.
 7. The method for producing a super absorbent polymer of claim 6, wherein the surface crosslinking step is carried out in the presence of at least one internal crosslinking agent selected from the group consisting of a polyhydric alcohol compound, an epoxy compound, a polyamine compound, a haloepoxy compound, a condensation product of the haloepoxy compound, an oxazoline compound, a mono-, di-, or poly-oxazolidinone compound, a cyclic urea compound, a polyvalent metal salt, and an alkylene carbonate compound.
 8. A super absorbent polymer comprising: a base polymer powder including a cross-linked polymer of a monomer containing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated compound or its salt; and a surface cross-linked layer that is formed on the base polymer powder and is further cross-linked from the cross-linked polymer, wherein a glass hollow particle having a micron-scale particle size is included in the cross-linked structure of the cross-linked polymer of the base polymer powder.
 9. The super absorbent polymer of claim 8, wherein the glass hollow particle has a particle size of 10 to 100 μm and a density of 0.1 to 0.7 g/cc.
 10. The super absorbent polymer of claim 8, wherein the centrifuge retention capacity (CRC) for a physiological saline solution (0.9 wt % sodium chloride aqueous solution) for 30 minutes is 35 to 45 g/g and the absorbency under pressure (AUP) at 0.7 psi for a physiological saline solution (0.9 wt % sodium chloride aqueous solution) for 1 hour is 22.5 to 28 g/g.
 11. The super absorbent polymer of claim 8, wherein the super absorbent polymer has an extractable content of 25% by weight or less. 